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In an emergency ruling, a Biden administration-appointed federal judge in Colorado halted the deportation of the wife and five children of Mohamed Soliman, the Egyptian national under federal investigation for the Boulder firebombing attack on Sunday.
The temporary restraining order (TRO), issued by U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher, prevents federal immigration authorities from removing Soliman’s wife, Hayem El Gamal, and the couple’s five children from the country — at least for now.
“Defendants are temporarily restrained and enjoined from removing Hayem El Gamal and her five minor children from the State of Colorado or the United States,” Gallagher wrote in the order.
The ruling will remain in effect until a scheduled hearing on June 13.
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The order came after El Gamal’s friend, Susanna Dvortsin, sought emergency legal protection for the family. She argued that the family faced imminent deportation by the Trump administration without the opportunity to present their case in court.
Gallagher agreed, writing that the family’s deportation would cause “irreparable harm.”
The judge ruled that Dvortsin must submit a supporting legal brief by June 6, with government attorneys required to file a response by June 11. A hearing is set for June 13 at the Byron G. Rogers Courthouse in Denver.
According to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, citing sources, El Gamal and her five children have all overstayed their visas. However, an asylum application had already been submitted on their behalf by Soliman.
The central question is whether deportation should move forward in spite of the family’s pending asylum claim.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has publicly addressed the detention and potential deportation of El Gamal and her five children. In a social media video on Tuesday, Secretary Noem confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had taken Soliman’s family into custody.
“Mohamed’s despicable actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but we’re also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack,” Noem said in the X post. “If they had any knowledge of it or if they provided any support to it.”
The Boulder attack triggered a political firestorm in Washington and Colorado, as Republican lawmakers have slammed it as a lack of immigration enforcement through sanctuary policies and poor management during the Biden administration.
“This is a direct result of failed sanctuary states like Colorado and California,” Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., said in the aftermath of the attack. “For the sake of our state, Democrats MUST stop putting illegals ahead of Americans. There are lives on the line.”
Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ office said they were never aware of any threat from the suspect.
“The reality is that Colorado is not a sanctuary state and state, federal and local law enforcement work together closely to apprehend criminals, whether they are from this country or not,” a spokesperson for Polis’ office told Fox News Digital, adding that the governor “expects to see the suspect prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“There were no requests from federal law enforcement agencies regarding this individual, and if there had been then the state would have eagerly cooperated. Reports indicate that this person’s legal presence ended in March, nearly three months ago, and we are not aware of any attempt by any federal agency to deport him,” the spokesperson added.
In addition, some Democrats in Colorado also faced scrutiny for attending a fundraiser with Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in nearby Denver roughly 30 minutes after the attack, as she has had a past history of anti-Semitic remarks and intense criticism of Israel.
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